Language Decline?

A response to :

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/nov/02/myth-young-people-have-abandoned-language-learning
The article starts by saying that statistically we, the young people of Britain, don't care about languages. Modern language degree entrants have fallen byb16% in 7 years ; two years ago German had just 615 entrants. Universities are shutting down their language departments or reducing the number of courses available. In fact, in English speaking countries across the world, the same thing is happening.

It goes on to say that people believe a language may not lead to a job. Furthermore, since it is no longer a compulsory GCSE subject, the amount of people eligible has dropped. However, I disagree. Yes, these may be factors. However, there are plenty of other courses that give transferable skills, and yet they are not in the same desperate position.

Personally, I believe that it is due to the mentality of Britain. As a former Empire, our language is spread widely across the world. It's easy for us to trade with other countries. We're separated, both physically and culturally, from the rest of the EU, so the stand that they take (everyone should know their native language and two others) has not reached us.

Furthermore, the actual courses are putting students off. The majority of people I know took a GCSE language, and yet very few have continued it. This is because of the quality of the teaching, and because the courses just weren't interesting enough. At A-level, we have 2 more lessons than everyone else. Languages are hard, and they require a lot of dedication. If you don't have the passion and the drive, they're hardly worth doing.

However, as the article says, more and more students are learning languages non-formally. They use sites such as duolingo, ab initio courses at their university, or years abroad. Of course, in general this doesn't give the same high calibre as a formal degree. But it does prove that the young people of today do care about languages.

Whether it's because they're utter nerds like my friends and want to watch anime without subs, or because they have internet friends from different countries, or because they are more and more conscious of the fact that the job market is now global, young people do still want to learn languages.

(Sorry I missed some days, I'm not very good at sticking to things. This was something I care a lot about, so I hope it's decent.)